Bruce Jenner has revealed that he identifies as a woman – his ‘true self’ and a childhood dream – in an explosive ABC interview with Diane Sawyer.

The 65-year-old Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star sparked rumors about his gender identity last year after visibly altering his appearance.

And last night, he confirmed that he is reinventing himself physically in a bid to transition from male to female in the highly-anticipated, intimate sit-down.

Speaking in front of millions of viewers, including Kim Kardashian and her family, Bruce tearfully revealed: ‘For all intents and purposes, I am a woman.

‘My brain is much more female than it is male. That’s what my soul is. Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie.’ He firmly added: ‘I can’t do it anymore.’

During the interview, Bruce also admitted that he has been regularly taking female hormones – and plans to completely transform into a woman.

But he said he was still attracted to females. ‘I was never attracted to the guys,’ he told Diane, explaining how he has always enjoyed a good sex life.

Jenner added: ‘I am not gay.I am, as far as I know, heterosexual. As far as I know, I’ve never been with a guy. I’ve always been married, raising kids.’

And he denied that his revelations were for publicity purposes. Instead, he made them due to his inability to continue to ‘pull the curtain’, he said.

Indeed, hiding his identity was so painful for Bruce that it once left him contemplating suicide to escape from the never-ending scrutiny, he revealed.

Many viewers and celebrities were taking to social media last night to congratulate Bruce on making a giant leap for the transgender community. Lady Gaga tweeted: ‘#BruceJennerABC Now that is bravery’, before telling her fans to ’empower people like Bruce’ globally by ‘being loving & not mean’.

Meanwhile, Bruce’s 17-year-old daughter, Kylie Jenner, tweeted an emotional message to her father. ‘Understandingly, this has been very hard for me. You will hear what I have to say when I’m ready to but this isn’t about me. I’m so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero,’ she wrote.

However, other users expressed concern that Bruce’s TV appearance has simply made transgenderism into a spectacle.

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Emotional: Speaking in front of millions of viewers on ABC last night, Bruce revealed tearfully: ‘To all intents and purposes, I am a woman’

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Living a lie: The reality star added: ‘My brain is much more female than it is male. That’s what my soul is. Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie’

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Glamorous dresser: Bruce is pictured showing Diane one of his dresses, a black number with see-through panels on its arms and neck

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The pair examine the dress. Bruce said in the interview that a full sex change is ‘further down the line’ and did not reveal his female name

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Transformation: Bruce, who has six children, is seen beaming as he unties his hair band to allow his hair to flow freely over his shoulders

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Interview: Bruce denied his revelations were for publicity. Instead, he said he made them due to his inability to continue to ‘pull the curtain’

Twitter user Ali Levine wrote: ‘I am completely behind transgender equality but this Bruce Jenner interview is such a spectacle,’ while a man named Daniel tweeted: ‘#BruceJenner coming forward is not going to help #transgender people. He’s a spectacle, not an ‘idol.’ #BruceJennerInterview.’

At the start of last night’s program, titled ‘Bruce Jenner: The Interview’, Diane asked Bruce: ‘Are you ready?’, to which he replied: ‘I am, let’s do it.’

The star continued: ‘You know what… it’s going to be tough. I’ve been thinking about this day forever and what I should do with my life. How do I tell my story, how do I tell people what i’ve been through? And that day is today.’ He then asked Diane for a tissue and used it to wipe his tear-filled eyes.

Clutching the tissue, Bruce remarked: ‘We have to keep our sense of humor about this. Me of all people – Bruce Jenner – has to deal with these issues.’

Seconds later, he finally answered the question that has been on everyone’s lips for the past year – is he transitioning from a man into a woman?

‘I have always been very confused with my gender identity since I was this big,’ admitted Bruce, lowering his hand to several feet above the ground.

‘People look at me differently. They see this macho male, but this female side is part of me, it’s who I am. I was not genetically born that way, and so now I have all the male parts and all that kind of stuff so in a lot of ways we’re different but we still identify as female.’

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He added: ‘My whole life has been getting me ready for this. I’m really excited about the future, about what good I could do in the world. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster, but somehow I’m gonna get through it… I feel like I’m going to be OK. 2015 is going to be quite a ride… Quite a ride.’

But despite his self-proclaimed ‘female soul’, Bruce said he does not describe himself as a woman stuck in a man’s body. ‘I’m a person and that’s who I am,’ he said. ‘I’m not stuck in anyone’s body. It’s just me. It’s who I am.’ He added that last night’s interview would be his last one as Bruce, as a ‘he’.

And when asked if he dreams as a woman, he said he ‘always’ has done. Indeed, Bruce was only eight or nine years old when he first put on one of his mother’s dresses while she was out of the house. He then carefully placed the feminine item back in the exact same spot to avoid getting caught.

‘At the time, I didn’t know why I was doing it besides it just made me feel good,’ he told Diane. He went on to tell her about a time, as an adult, that he was greeted by a storm of paparazzi after a doctor’s appointment to get a trachial shave. ‘That night I thought, ‘Oh, it’s, like, over,’ he said.

‘I was walking up and down this hall right here, back and forth, back and forth all night long. Heart’s pounding. And I thought, wouldn’t the easiest thing to be right now, and I could see where people get to that – is go in the room, get a gun. Boom. You know? Pain’s over. Done. Go to a better place.

‘And I thought, ‘nah, I cant do something like that’. I mean, I wanna know how this story ends.’

Reflective: ‘My whole life has been getting me ready for this. I’m really excited about the future, about what good I could do in the world. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster, but somehow I’m gonna get through it… 2015 is going to be quite a ride,’ said Bruce

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Intimate: During the interview, Bruce also told Diane (pictured) that he has been regularly taking female hormones – and plans to completely transform into a woman. However, he said he still fancied females. ‘I was never attracted to the guys,’ he explained

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Greeting: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is pictured chatting with Diane Sawyer in car outside his $3.5m mansion in Malibu

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Support: Bruce (left), who has been married three times and fathered six children, finalized the divorce to his third wife, reality star Kris Jenner, last December. He revealed in the interview that Kris’s daughter, Kim (right), has been the most accepting of his gender identity

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An emotional time: Bruce said Kris’s daughter, Khloe Kardashian (pictured, above, with Bruce), 30, had reacted the worst to the news of his identity. ‘Khloe has been very emotional, she’s had the toughest time with it, she’s had a lot of losses in her life,’ he told Diane Sawyer

‘My hero’: But the teenager added: ‘But this isn’t about me. I’m so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero’

HOW BRUCE JENNER’S CHILDREN AND FORMER WIVES HAVE RESPONDED TO HIS INTERVIEW WITH DIANE SAWYER

THIRD WIFE, KRIS JENNER: ‘Not only was I able to call him my husband for 25 years and father of my children, I am now able to call him my hero.’ (She also lashed out out at Diane Sawyer for claiming she did not provide a comment to ABC on her former husband’s revelations).

STEPDAUGHTER KIM KARDASHIAN: She said yesterday morning: ‘The family is watching all together with Bruce. As a family we always support each other 100 per cent and I know that I see things online that there is this divide and this one doesn’t support this and this one doesn’t support this and you know it’s all ridiculous and it’s all rumors and we love everyone in the family and we support everyone equally so we’re excited to watch tonight and I’m excited for Bruce to tell his story on Diane Sawyer.’

She tweeted last night: ‘Love is the courage to live the truest, best version of yourself. Bruce is love. I love you Bruce. #ProudDaughter.’

STEPDAUGHTER KHLOE KARDASHIAN: She showed support for Bruce after Jamie Foxx poked fun at Jenner’s transition during the iHeartRadioAwards in April, calling his jokes ‘very mean and a low blow.’

STEPSON ROB KARDASHIAN: ‘You have always been a role model to me and now more than ever, I look up to you. LOVE YOU.’

DAUGHTER KENDALL JENNER: ‘So very proud of you, my hero.’

DAUGHTER KYLIE JENNER: After the broadcast. she tweeted: ‘Understandingly, this has been very hard for me. You will hear what I have to say when I’m ready to but…this isn’t about me. I’m so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero.’

She shared a message of support on Instagram yesterday morning. She posted a picture of her father from the Eighties wearing a crop top and denim shorts with the caption, ‘Daddy throwback’. She added the hashtags: ‘#Tonight #DianeSawyer #ABC #love’

BRANDON JENNER ‘Proud son.’ Brandon and his wife Leah joined his siblings Burt, Brody and Casey on the Diane Sawyer interview, where they all voiced their support for Bruce.

FIRST WIFE, CHRYSTIE SCOTT: ‘I support him in whatever he chooses to do. I just want him to be happy. We see each other on and off at family events, and he is a very proud and present grandfather. We all support him.’

She told ABC in a statement: ‘Someone who has lived 65 years of his life as the wrong gender has every right to live the last quarter of his life as his authentic self. I support him and so hope the world can too. I pray for his happiness for the rest of his journey.’

SECOND WIFE, LINDA THOMPSON: She praised her ex-husband for being ‘a champion for those who share the struggle to just be who they are.’

She also told ABC in a statement: ‘Bruce has always had my loyalty, even if he wasn’t aware of it. I support his courage and commitment to this new chapter of his life. My hope is that his transition will inspire others who struggle with their identities, and my prayer is that humanity has evolved and been educated enough to exercise kindness toward those we may perceive as ‘different’.’

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Powerful: Rob Kardashian posted this tweet last night after watching his step-father reveal he wants to transition to become a woman

In the second half of the interview, Diane asked Bruce how his children had taken the news that he identifies as a woman. The star revealed that Kim once caught him in a dress, while his daughters with his third wife, Kris Jenner – Kendall, now 19, and Kylie – had also seen him in women’s clothes.

He said Kris’s daughter, Khloe Kardashian, 30, had reacted the worst to the news. ‘Khloe has been very emotional, she’s had the toughest time with it, she’s had a lot of losses in her life,’ he said, adding that Kim was ‘by far the most accepting’ to his decision to transform into a woman.

Bruce revealed how he had explained his identity to his children. ‘[I told them] ‘God’s looking down, making little Bruce. He gave me all these wonderful qualities. [But then He thought] wait a second, we’ve got to give him something in his life to struggle with. Let’s give him the soul of a female’.’ he said.

I’ve been thinking about this day forever and what I should do with my life. How do I tell my story, how do I tell people what i’ve been through? And that day is today

Bruce Jenner

Incredibly, he also told Diane that he had embarked on hormone therapy and electrolysis within 10 years of becoming an Olympic champion in 1976. He said he took the female hormone estrogen for a staggering five years, saying women do not know ‘how lucky they are that they can be themselves’.

However, fear drove him to stop the process and continue giving motivational speeches as a man, Bruce said in the two-hour interview.

‘I felt like a liar,’ he told Diane, reflecting on the speeches he gave, telling people to ‘find the champion inside you’ while wearing a suit. He admitted he would go back to his hotel after each event, take off his suit, and dress as ‘her’. Both his first and second wives knew about his secret, he revealed.

‘Chrystie was the first one to know,’ he said of his first wife, Chrystie Crownover. ‘I said these are my issues, this is what I deal with.’ She was loving, he said, but fundamentally believed she could change him. Linda Thompson, his second wife, knew it was something deeper, he said.

As for Kris, Bruce revealed that his third wife knew about his internal torment from the moment they started dating in the early 1990s. She saw him cross-dressing, he revealed, but he found it difficult to fully express how deep his feelings sat; that his believed his soul to be female.

‘I kind of downplayed it,’ he told Sawyer of the early days in the relationship. ‘I feel like in a lot of ways, when you loves somebody, you have a tendency, you don’t want to hurt them.’ He claims Kris was relatively low-key when she found out. ‘She didn’t say much… ‘OK, you gonna change now?”

Bruce added: ‘I probably was not as good at saying, ‘This is really down deep in my soul and I don’t know if I can go any farther like this.’

‘It was tough on her. You see your husband, I get that. I understand…Kris is a good woman. I’ve got no complaints with her. She’s a good person.’

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Speaking out: Bruce (pictured pulling a face in the interview) said: ‘You know what… it’s going to be tough. I’ve been thinking about this day forever and what I should do with my life. How do I tell my story, how do I tell people what i’ve been through? That day is today’

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Confused: ‘I have always been very confused with my gender identity since I was this big,’ admitted Bruce, who wore a dark blue shirt

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‘It’s who I am’: Despite his ‘female soul’, Bruce said he does not describe himself as a woman stuck in a man’s body. ‘I’m a person and that’s who I am,’ he said. ‘I’m not stuck in anyone’s body. It’s just me. It’s who I am.’ He added that the interview would be his last one as Bruce

January 2012: Ellen Pierson, who married Kris Jenner’s ex-husband Robert Kardashian, claimed Bruce had been a cross-dresser ‘for years.’ She claimed his first wife Chrystie Crownover told her he had a penchant for women’s clothing, shoes and lingerie.

That same month, Star magazine alleged that Kris was unfazed by her husband’s odd habit and that he continued to cross-dress for years after their 1991 wedding.

January 2014: The Olympic gold medalist reportedly underwent a laryngeal shave to flatted his Adam’s Apple.

May 2014: Bruce refused to cut his long hair for Kim Kardashian’s wedding to Kanye West, despite pressure from the bride and his estranged wife Kris Jenner.

August 2014: Photos appeared to show Bruce had breasts, sparking rumors he was having hormone therapy as he explored the idea of transitioning from male to female.

September 2014: As his divorce from Kris was being finalized, Bruce had started growing out his hair and shaving his legs.

November 2014: He was spotted on various occasions wearing nail polish, a sports bra and Spanx.

December 2014: Bruce’s first wife Chrystie Scott (nee Crownover) spoke out publicly in support of her former husband, saying ‘I just want him to be happy.’

January 2015: When asked about her step-father’s changing appearance, Kim Kardashian said he was on a ‘journey’ and added: ‘He’ll share whenever the time is right.’

February 2015: TMZ reported that Bruce told his family that he has known he was meant to be a female since the age of five.

March 2015: People magazine claims his ex-wives Chrystie Crownover and Linda Thompson knew how he felt and both were supportive.

The same month he had rhinoplasty to give himself a more feminine nose.(This followed years of surgical procedures which began with a face-lift in the 1980s.)

March 31: It was claimed he’d had breast implants.

April 6: ABC News announced that Bruce would do an ‘far-ranging’ interview with Diane Sawyer.

The couple stayed together for more than two decades, raising Kris’s four children, Bruce’s four children, and their two biological daughters, Kendall and Kylie. Despite having ‘a great sex life’, Bruce said, he could no longer hide his 36B breasts.

The high-profile pair divorced last December. ‘If she had been good about it, we’d probably still be together,’ said Bruce.

Before last night’s interview, ABC had refused to confirm exactly what the Olympic decathlon winner would speak about.

Instead, the network simply promoted the sit-down as being ‘wide-ranging’. Diane also declined to confirm what the interview would cover – but said it would be ‘fascinating’.

‘I think we can all agree that some stories should only be told by the person who lives them,’ said the 69-year-old acclaimed journalist. ‘And he wants to speak directly tonight, so I’m going to let him say first what he wants to say, but we did talk over several days, long conversations.’

She added that the ‘fascinating and interesting’ interview would cover Bruce’s children’s reactions – and ‘what they do to try and be a family again’.

Speaking before the broadcast, Diane revealed what she hopes viewers will take away from the revelations. ‘I hope people talk with other people, with families, with friends, because there is so much to think about,’ she said. ‘Not just about what he is going to tell you but about everyone’s life.’

Yesterday, just hours before the tell-all interview, Kim revealed that her family would all be watching the sit-down, which began at 9pm EDT.

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‘Champion’: Also today, Bruce’s second wife, Linda Thompson, tweeted her support for her former husband, who grew up in New York

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Reaching out: Linda and Bruce are pictured together during their marriage – before rumors about Bruce’s gender identity arose

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Proud: ‘I’m just honored and more proud than ever to be a part of the family,’ Bruce’s son Brandon (seen left in the interview) told Diane

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There for his dad: Bruce and Linda Thompson fell in love and got married in Hawaii when Linda was already pregnant with Brandon (pictured with his father during Friday’s interview). A few years later they welcomed a second son together, Brody

Speaking to E! reporters in New York at the Variety Power of Women event, the 34-year-old said: ‘We always support each other. Our family is super supportive of everything that we do and you know we’re gonna watch the special tonight and support Bruce and watch it with him tonight.’

Meanwhile, Bruce’s second wife, Linda, tweeted her support for her ex-husband, who grew up in a middle class home in New York.

‘Once a champion of Olympian magnitude…now a champion for those who share the struggle to just be who they are,’ the 64-year-old wrote.

She followed it with the hashtags #compassion #acceptance #tolerance #education #evolution #kindness #inclusion #freedom #peace.

And Bruce’s daughter, Kylie, took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of her father – making her love for him known. She captioned the black-and-white image, in which Bruce shows off his athletic build: ‘daddy throwback. #Tonight #DianeSawyer #ABC #love’.

In a joint statement yesterday, Kylie and her sister Kendell said that their father has ‘the biggest heart’, adding: ‘If he’s happy, we’re happy.’

However, others were not so thrilled about Bruce’s revealing interview.

Wendy Williams said on her Thursday show that she was not happy with the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, whom she called a ‘fame wh**e’.

She also noted he should be paying more attention to Kylie, who is dating rapper Tyga, 25 – and said he should not have had kids in the first place.

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Former couple: After Bruce divorced from Kris (pictured, left, with Bruce in 2008) last December, Chrystie Crownover (right with Bruce) – his first love and an interior designer – spoke out about the rumors that he was transitioning. ‘I just want him to be happy,’ said Crownover

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Rumors surrounding Bruce’s gender identity first arouse in January 2012, when Ellen Pierson – who married Kris’s ex-husband Robert Kardashian – claimed the star had been a cross-dresser ‘for years. She said his first wife, Chrystie, had said he had a penchant for women’s clothing.

Two years later, the rumors escalated when Bruce was spotted in public after reportedly undergoing a laryngeal shave to flatted his Adam’s Apple. In May 2014, he then refused to cut his long hair for Kim’s wedding to rapper Kanye West, despite pressure from the bride and his estranged wife Kris.

And in August that year, Bruce was pictured with what appeared to be breasts, sparking claims he was having hormone therapy to turn into a woman

A month later, Bruce started growing out his hair and shaving his legs. And in November, he was spotted wearing nail polish, a sports bra and Spanx.

After Bruce divorced from Kris in December, Chrystie – his first love and an interior designer – spoke out about the rumors that he was transitioning.

People look at me differently. They see this macho male, but this female side is part of me, it’s who I am. I was not genetically born that way

Bruce

She revealed that she still sees Bruce – the father of two of her children, Burt and Casey – at family events, and would support him in his decision. ‘I just want him to be happy,’ she said. ‘He is a very proud and present grandfather. We all support him.’

Bruce, whose father was a tree surgeon and mother was a housewife was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was young. However, he showed a strong talent for athletics – and excelled at sports while a student at Newtown High School in Connecticut.

In the 1976 summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, Bruce took the gold medal in the decathlon and quickly became a household name

During his marriage with Kris, Bruce was stepfather to Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob Kardashian.

The pair also had daughters Kendall, now 19, and Kylie, 17, together, before announcing their separation in 2013. They divorced the following year.

According to People magazine, the Kardashian girls ‘were the last to know’ about the ‘true identity’ of Bruce, who lives in a $3.5million Malibu mansion.

‘They were just hysterical when it all really came out,’ a source told the magazine in March.

‘The whole family went through a rough patch.. It’s naturally a difficult thing to process and work through.’

LADY GAGA: #BruceJennerABC Now that is bravery. We have the chance to write this moment in history together. Let’s empower people like Bruce all over the world by being loving & not mean

JIMMY FALLON: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. #BruceJenner #Brave

LARRY KING: I’ve interviewed #BruceJenner many times, and I’m in his corner. I support him & offer my respect.

ANDY COHEN: Mazel Tov to #BruceJenner – very very brave!!!

ELTON JOHN It’s an incredibly brave thing to do, especially when you’re older. I admire him for doing it and I support him 100 percent.

DR PHIL McGRAW I am so happy for him. This is his body and his life, and he needs to do what he wants to do. It drains your spirit if you can’t be yourself. He is freeing himself.

LENA DUNHAM: I think it’s an incredibly powerful and brave move to disclose anything about your gender identity or sexuality in such a judgmental society. The interview is going to mean a lot to a lot of young people.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE: You have to be so brave to live this truth of who you are. And if Mrs. Jenner is transitioning, I give all my support to her and love and appreciate everything she’s given to America. She’s fighting a fight for a lot of kids that are being kicked out of their own homes. Society turns their back on these kids and it’s really brutal.

BOY GEORGE: I absolutely applaud what [Jenner’s] doing and I think it’s very brave. And it actually makes me quite emotional. [Jenner] has my 150 percent support in every way. I think that the whole transgender thing is the new frontier.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: This is going to be a little bit of a game changer for people, and dealing with family and how people feel and having those conversations, this is going to be much bigger than ABC or Diane (Sawyer),

JEFFREY TAMBOR: Any movement toward authenticity is an important movement and everyone can relate to it.

DONALD TRUMP: It’s very sad because he doesn’t seem very happy, and maybe whatever he’s going to be doing will make him happy. If he’s happy, I’m happy.

WENDY WILLIAMS I feel duped by Bruce… I don’t feel duped because he’s turning into a woman. I feel duped because he’s the same fame whore as the rest of the family. Bruce has bigger fish to fry than turning into Belinda. He should have thought about [transitioning]before he had all the kids… Belinda, shame on you!

KIRSTIE ALLEY: ‘Trying to find a place for myself midst a world that has mistaken bravery for insanity…Mandela was brave…the rest of this sh*t is absurd’

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